


I can see the Flickers

by Webtrinsic



Series: The Fantastic Four's MCU Origin, with lots of Johnny whump (S.1) [2]
Category: Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four (2015), Fantastic Four (Movies 2005-2007), Fantastic Four (Movies), Fantastic Four (Ultimateverse), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Difficult Decisions, F/M, Family Feels, Johnny was always a pyro, Joining a team, Lack of control, Protective Susan, Reed is Reasonable, Scared Johnny Storm, Team as Family, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:46:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23440405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Webtrinsic/pseuds/Webtrinsic
Summary: The Fantastic Three discuss Johnny joining the team after his powers come to light.
Relationships: Ben Grimm & Reed Richards & Johnny Storm & Susan Storm, Reed Richards/Susan Storm (Fantastic Four)
Series: The Fantastic Four's MCU Origin, with lots of Johnny whump (S.1) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665754
Comments: 9
Kudos: 24





	I can see the Flickers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [battymcjules](https://archiveofourown.org/users/battymcjules/gifts).



> read the first part of part one if u want to see the au this fic takes place in but basically its after spiderman far from home

“If you’re about to suggest what I think you’re about to suggest, you better not be,” Susan warned, crossing her legs as she stared hard at her husband on the couch across from her. His body bent forward over the round glass table, a hand perched under his chin, unfazed by her threat. His logical brain knowing no matter the consequence, this needed to be addressed and now.

Before he could speak Ben stepped in, not under his rocky guise as he took his seat on the leather arm chair.

“We waiting for the kid, or is this just us?” 

“Just us, he doesn’t even need to know we’re considering this, which we’re not,” Susan answered, her final remark firm as she stared down at her husband who had currently fallen into his old habit of stroking his beard with his finger tips.

At times she wondered if it was a sign of stress or simply just a marker of the cogs in his head turning. He did it so often she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, normally the small quirk would also have her calming in seconds. This just wasn’t one of those times, not with the possibility of her little brother joining their fight.

No matter how cocky and arrogant he played himself up to be, Johnny was still her little brother that’d walked her and her husband's wedding rings down the aisle and cried out to her alone in the world when she was only fourteen.

Susan struggled to imagine him on a battlefield, burning in a gulf of flames even if his skin wasn’t melting. Susan could distantly remember the days where the little boy was running around the yard with a magnifying glass in hand, lighting the ants on fire and trying to get his grubby fingers on the matches all throughout his youth. 

Johnny’s new power had to be the world mocking her in the most cruelly ironic way possible. She’d always feared he’d be a pyro with his reckless attitude and need to test his boundaries. Not to mention only months ago when he’d run into a burning building to pull out his two friends, the memory left her feeling weak. 

Reed had been there too, he’d talked Johnny out of trouble when she was stuck in her new college classes and had watched over him as the paramedics checked him over for smoke inhalation when she couldn’t get there in time. He  _ had _ to be just as afraid as she, his heart had to be beating out of his chest with worry. Why didn’t he seem fazed at the idea of Johnny in a uniform playing with fire?

Was it because they’d been together for the first attack? Bared witness to the absolute wreckage and carnage those flames of his left in their wake? Johnny’s wake! 

Reed’s damn intellect had probably won out over his feelings, she knew he was right, knew Johnny joining the team would be good for him. Mainly because she couldn’t see Johnny being modest with his powers at all, especially now with the world _ mostly  _ absent of superheroes after the war. The prospect of gaining the attention of the public would be irresistible to Johnny.

In joining the...Fantastic Three? No, in joining  _ them _ , he wasn’t likely to be swept up by SHIELD or Hydra or whatever organizations were preying upon heroes. If he was in their unit, Reed could work things out.

He was already handling their newfound association with SHIELD, not working beneath them, she knew her husband would never settle for that and neither would she, but he wasn’t against assisting if the world was in desperate need.

Just because they’d be helping SHIELD out didn’t mean she wouldn’t be slapping Director Fury across his face the next time she saw him. How could a man ever allow a child such as Spider-Man fight such atrocities and then ask  _ if  _ Johnny’s powers were existent, he join too!

“If we’re not discussing it, then what are we doing?” Ben cracked his back as he asked the question, turning his head towards his still silent friend. Figuring the conversation wouldn’t be going anywhere with Susan for the time being. He wasn’t in the mood to argue, not about Johnny.

The kid was a pain in the ass, talked way too much, and most definitely needed to learn to shut his mouth. 

Although Ben would admit, albeit begrudgingly, with or without his power, the kid was capable. 

The teen could handle himself in a fight _-a school fight_ _at least_ , certainly not someone professionally trained. That didn’t mean he couldn’t learn, but even that didn’t seem to be too much of a priority anymore. Not if the kid could just burn his opponents.

There would be exceptions to that, fire couldn’t triumph over everything, but it could triumph over _ most _ things. He had them to handle the rest, their new suits had to be fireproof by now too. Ben wouldn’t put it past Reed to have already assembled the little shit’s suit and fixed theirs as well.

Susan would kill him for it if she found out, which she would. It was expected, meaning Reed had thought it through and accepted the inevitable. Sure he’d take a bullet for the teen out of principle more than anything else, but he wouldn’t fight Susan over it. Reed would be in the dog house for a week.

“Reasons, what are the reasons against him for joining us on the team?” The question broke the silence, it being asked to them both, leaving the air open. Reed knew what he was doing by asking, he had his own hesitations that would never be solved if they weren’t set out on the table and worked through.

He hated leaving things unsolved, especially when an answer was already in sight but the steps to get there weren’t filled in. Before either Susan or Ben could chime in, mainly Susan because Ben didn’t have much to say anyway, Reed added his own thoughts.

“He doesn’t know how to control his powers,” The thought of having something as destructive as fire uncontrolled unnerved the older man, it had nearly scared him shitless when his blood filled gaze caught sight of Johnny bursting into flames and acting as a flamethrower on the Doom bots that’d been striking them.

It was by far his biggest concern, they could all use some work, Susan too. She tended to have a little trouble in making herself appear and disappear at will and couldn’t use her fields just yet, it made sense their powers were similar in the way they were controlled, the blast must have worked with their similar makeup. 

Fortunately Susan picked things up easily, Johnny on the other hand did not, but the minute he did figure something out, he easily outshone the rest. Reed could only hope he approached his powers with the same prowess. 

It wouldn’t be difficult to put together a flame retardant room, he’d already managed to update their suits to withstand the boy’s flames. Reed still wondered how Johnny’s civilian clothes hadn’t burned when he lit up like a torch, much to his dismay, science didn’t explain everything.

Then again it had saved him from hearing the boy complain about burning his yellow Gucci hoodie. 

“He’ll learn,” Ben added lightly after the man had drifted off into his head, cogs visibly turning as he worked out the boy’s inexperience and began to set a course of action that they wouldn’t be privy too until the man had figured it all out.

“We all will,” Reed added absently, eyes brightening and head nodding as he wrapped up all the loose ends in his head, “I’ve already fixed our suits, his as well, it won’t take long to put up an arena for him to train. For all of us to train.”

“He’s sixteen Reed,” Susan had to point out, she wholeheartedly consented to Johnny learning how to handle his flames. That was crucial, she’d need more to get her on board with him fighting crime, and she had a feeling her husband,  _ with work _ , would eventually convince her.

“Spider-Man’s sixteen too,” Johnny argued from the doorway, quickly clipping back around the corner. Not having meant to reveal his presence to the three, he knew hiding wouldn’t help now that they’d heard him but he stayed hidden around the bend anyway.

An arm slid around the corner seconds later, the sight of it caused him to grimace. It was still hard to see someone's body move in such a way. How in the hell did his sister get on with someone who could do that? Oh god, wait no he didn’t mean to think of that.

He’d have to drink some ice cold bleach to give himself a brain freeze that’d not only kill him but the thought of it too. 

The hand gripped his shoulder, leading him into one of the many living rooms Baxter tower had to offer. His sister had the same pointed look on her face that she had when she was upset about him getting caught cheating on a test or having got into a fist fight with one of the many jerks at school.

Ben had the same resting bitch face he always had, his jowls chuffing and eyes rolling. While the friendliest eyes in the room belonged to Reed, who’s arm came back to his side so naturally Johnny would have believed the man had been able to do that all his life and not only for a few weeks.

“That’s not as strong of an argument as you think it is,” Ben stated bluntly, rubbing his forehead with a large hand. 

“But it does prove with guidance, and I do believe Spider-Man is being falsely accused by the way, and we can look into that later.  _ but _ with guidance Johnny can still be beneficial to the team,” Reed returned with a surprising amount of conviction, looking at his wife and friend.

Johnny didn’t bother to hide the smile quirking at his lips, shifting on his feet as they talked. He would sit down, but at times like this he preferred the high ground. He was also a little iffy on getting close, they weren’t wrong about him not knowing exactly how to control his powers. What had happened before had been his body acting on autopilot. Now that he knew he could produce flames, it seemed to happen at random.

If it helped he didn’t feel particularly... flamey? Telling them that would probably only get him clapped with a standard and awkward, ‘Well’- long unnecessary pause -’good’. What could he say? He knew Reed well.

His sister on the other hand was a different story, he wouldn’t push it.

“School,” The blonde woman didn’t look at her husband this time, she stared directly at her little brother, noticing the subtle shrink in his shoulders. She knew he had a tendency to stick to the high ground to further his point, but even sitting it was her who had it.

“It’s not like you guys can’t homeschool me, plus that place doesn’t have much hope for me anyway. I’ve gotten in more fights than I’ve had tests Sue, you don’t like me there anyway. And I’m too dumb to get into a place like midtown-”

“You’re not dumb, you just don’t apply yourself,” She cut him off with a sigh, pulling herself to her feet so she was level with him. Her hands firm on his shoulders, blue eyes glazed in a deathly seriousness that had the teen grow stock.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this kinda thing? You may see people die, and you’ll be hurt. Like Spider-Man, they won’t hesitate because you’re a teenager, and we’ll be under the same threats. You’ll need to have our backs, and you’ll have to trust we have yours,”

Before he could assure his sister he was ready she continued on.

“That means no more goofing around, you’ll have to do all your work for school. You’ll need to stop picking fights with the people you cross on the streets. If you aren’t careful someone will get hurt, and Johnny I know that’d eat you alive. This job will ask things of you, things you might not be ready to give, and you think it’ll be easy to turn your back once this starts if things get to be too much, but it won’t be. And these powers, you can’t use them on your bullies like Mike Snow-”

God what an ironic last name, Johnny wanted to snicker but found himself pouting at the fact he couldn’t give his bully a what for. It’s not like he would have melted some snow, just scare him off so he didn’t mess with anybody else. 

“Johnny, if you say yes. There’s no going back,” Her voice was soft, one hand moving from his shoulder to his face. He wanted to say yes, wanted to scream it from the rooftops but felt himself go a little warm.

He drew back away from his sister immediately, hands wringing together in his pockets, he had to think about this.

“Can I get back to you guys on that?” The question surprised them all, concerned glances being sent his way but Johnny managed to force his shoulders to pop and relax. Jumping on the balls of his feet, a smug smile lit his face.

It always tricked them, that smile tricked everyone. He may be cocky, but he could play suave, sweet, and whatever else anyone asked of him without problem. He knew his own ticks, knew his sister knew them as well.

He’d always been adaptable, he could change and he could fool anyone. It’s how he survived at Glenville High and on the streets when he went out. As perceptive as his sister and brother in law were, even Ben, he could lie to them.

You’d have thought with his sister and brother-in-law acting as his parents it’d make it harder for him to lie to them, you’d be wrong because it only got easier.

Before they could corner him, he waved them off and stalked off to his bedroom. Shutting the door and hoping an elongated hand wouldn’t open it back up. He would say yes, he would join the team and learn to control the boiling feeling in his gut.

But saying yes the second they asked? He couldn’t do it. Not with his motherly sister holding his face and looking into his eyes, her own gently glossing. Johnny refused to watch his sister cry, he’d seen it before not long ago after Doctor Doom’s robot attack. The tears were for him and her husband, fear shaking her body, she hadn’t let them out of her sight for hours. She didn’t let Ben go far either, apparently demanding he get checked over when there was no damage on his actual skin at all. 

At the time those tears had him feeling oddly cold, but now he was hot, sweltering from the inside out. Immediately he was pulling his hands from his pockets, his left arm holding his dominant hands wrist as his veins burned.

Holding his breath, the teen extended his palm, eyes glistening with the flame sitting in his hand. The flame dancing around four inches high, his thoughts projecting themselves onto the flame where it made out the silhouettes of his sister and his brother hugging one another with another larger silhouette crowding over them as they withered away and burned to death.

“No, the suits are fireproof. They’re fireproof,” he gasped, the flame disappearing as he hurriedly closed his palm and extinguished the flame. The knock on the door forced him to calm, pushing the boiling down into a simmer inside.

Striding to the door, he opened it up and looked up at his brother-in-law. He was holding a suit in his hands, the same royal blue that decorated the others.

“Thanks,” Johnny smiled, taking comfort in the hard fabric in his hands with a four on the patch rather than a three. It had the fear of his family burning disappearing for now.

“Welcome to the team,” Reed smiled with one cheek, something Sue picked on him for all the time.

Johnny shut the door, holding the blue suit to his chest in a loose hug, “Welcome to the team,” he repeated to himself, sauntering back to his bed and falling into the mattress for a restless sleep, dislodging the match he’d sat behind his ear.

**Author's Note:**

> snap: allisonw1122  
> tumblr/twitter: webtrinsic1122  
> insta: webtrinsic


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